Futurama is renowned for its hidden Easter eggs, some that even diehard fans couldn't have picked up on upon first viewing. That's because these little secrets foreshadow events and characters that wouldn't happen or appear until seasons later.

2. Nibbler's Shadow in the Pilot

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Nibbler's shadow can be seen underneath Fry's chair in the first episode, "Space Pilot 3000." Even though the character hadn't been introduced yet, Nibbler's presence in the pilot is explained years later in the season 4 episode ""The Why of Fry," when it is revealed that the critter pushed him into a cryogenic tank. In DVD commentary for the pilot, Matt Groening explains, "What we tried to do is we tried to lay in a lot of little secrets in this episode that would pay off later."

3. Killer Wasps and the Old Planet Express Crew

Speaking of the first episode, Professor Farnsworth retrieves Fry, Leela, and Bender's new career chips from a package labeled "Contents of Space Wasp's Stomach," implying the old crew was killed by space wasps. This foreshadows the season four episode "The Sting," in which we find out that this did in fact happen to the old crew as the new Planet Express gang are almost killed by giant space bees.

5. Futurama itself was predicted by The Simpsons

The creation of Futurama itself was foreshadowed in the 1993 episode of The Simpsons, "The Front." In the episode, a writer resembling Futurama co-creator David X. Cohen exclaims, "I'm gonna do what I've always dreamed of. I'm gonna write that sitcom about the sassy robot." Futurama (and sassy robot Bender) wouldn't premier on Fox for another six years.

6. The Omission of Fry's Grandfather is for a reason

In "The Luck of the Fryrish," Fry's father tells Fry's brother Yancy that his name (Yancy) has been passed down for generations, from his father's grandfather, to his grandfather, to him, then down to Yancy. He leaves out his own father (Yancy and Fry's grandfather) implying he was named something other than Yancy. This is because in the next-season episode "Roswell that Ends Well," it's revealed that Fry becomes his own grandfather.